Silver-Haired Girl Na'er

As expected, when Lang Lei slowly opened his eyes, the first things he saw were the exquisitely carved faces of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress.

"Lang Lei, how are you feeling now?" the Snow Empress asked softly, a hint of concern in her eyes.

Lang Lei's lips curved into a reassuring smile. "I'm feeling great now, Sister Xue, Sister Bing. Don't worry about me."

Seeing this, the Ice Empress couldn't help but scold him, "Honestly, why do you always close your eyes without warning! You really scared Sister Bing and me!"

Lang Lei scratched his head sheepishly and explained, "I'm sorry, Sister Bing. I don't know why it happens... If anything happens to me in the future, I'll definitely tell you in advance."

The sudden closing of his eyes this time was mainly due to the abrupt intrusion of the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed unconscious for so long. Absorbing the origin and divine power from the dragon scale was a secondary reason.

The Ice Empress snorted and continued, "You're just so troublesome! We didn't dare to disturb you, afraid of affecting you, yet we were worried something might happen to you."

Lang Lei's heart warmed, and he quickly said, "I'm truly sorry for making you worry."

He noticed that the Ice Empress wasn't being tsundere as usual. It seemed the recent events had genuinely made her anxious.

The Snow Empress chimed in, "The Star Dou Great Forest is full of dangers. If Sister Bing and I weren't by your side, your carelessness would have probably attracted a swarm of Soul Beasts by now. So, when you're here alone in the future, you must be extra careful and don't just absorb anything!"

Lang Lei nodded seriously, responding, "Yes, I understand, Sister Xue. I'll be careful."

Lang Lei propped himself up with his hands, slowly sitting up from the ground. He felt that although his Soul Power was a bit sluggish due to the sudden addition of a strange new attribute, it was much more stable than before.

He unconsciously touched his chest. The Reverse Scale, which contained the Silver Dragon King's origin, should have been floating there. However, at this moment, the Reverse Scale had vanished without a trace.

"That Dragon Scale..." Lang Lei's voice held a hint of confusion.

Before he could finish speaking, the Snow Empress beside him suddenly pointed at the grass to his side in surprise, exclaiming, "It's there!" Her voice was filled with clear astonishment.

Hearing this, Lang Lei quickly looked in the direction the Snow Empress was pointing. Indeed, the Dragon Scale lay quietly on the grass, emitting a faint glow.

"But how did it get there?" the Snow Empress frowned, completely bewildered. She and the Ice Empress had been paying their utmost attention to Lang Lei, not even daring to blink simultaneously, for fear of missing any detail. Yet, how could the Dragon Scale have suddenly appeared there without them noticing?

Lang Lei was equally surprised. He stared at the Dragon Scale, pondering in his mind. After all, this wasn't an ordinary item; it was the Reverse Scale containing the Silver Dragon King's origin, possessing considerable power and Divinity.

Thinking this, Lang Lei decided to retrieve the Dragon Scale first. It was a precious treasure to him, and if Aili could absorb its power, it might even accelerate her Martial Soul's transformation.

Thus, Lang Lei prepared to get up and pick up the Dragon Scale. However, just as he shifted his body, the Dragon Scale suddenly emitted an extremely dazzling light, instantly illuminating the entire grassy area.

Lang Lei was startled by the sudden brilliance. He instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the sight before him nearly made his eyeballs pop out.

"Ah! Lang Lei, don't look!" Elysia's startled cry suddenly echoed in Lang Lei's mind like a thunderclap, making him dizzy. His vision was instantly engulfed in a dense pink light.

Before Lang Lei could recover from this sudden turn of events, a pair of soft little hands covered his eyes like lightning, completely depriving him of his sight. At the same time, an icy chill swept in from all directions, as if trying to freeze him solid.

Lang Lei inwardly lamented, feeling for the first time that his quick reflexes weren't necessarily a good thing... or maybe they were? As he was lost in thought, he heard the Ice Empress's voice, "Lang Lei, do you have clothes in your Storage Soul Tool?"

Lang Lei calmed himself slightly and quickly replied, "Yes."

As he spoke, he fumbled through his Storage Soul Tool and found a set of clothes he rarely wore.

When Lang Lei took out the clothes, a barely perceptible hint of embarrassment flickered across his face.

However, Lang Lei had no time to dwell on such matters. He just hoped that the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress would release him soon and grant him his freedom.

Finally, after a long wait, the Ice Empress slowly removed her hands from Lang Lei's eyes. Lang Lei felt a sense of relief and quickly opened his eyes.

However, when he saw the scene before him, he couldn't help but freeze in astonishment. A magnificent snow castle stood before him, like a dreamlike ice and snow palace.

"Come with me," the Ice Empress snorted, seemingly displeased with Lang Lei's reaction. She turned and walked into the snow castle without looking back, leaving Lang Lei standing there, awkwardly scratching his head.

Lang Lei sighed helplessly, temporarily pushing aside Elysia's teasing from his mind, and followed the Ice Empress into the snow castle.

Where the Dragon Scale had been placed, a little girl about four or five years old was now sitting.

Her hair cascaded down to her waist like a silver waterfall, its tips still adorned with the morning dew unique to the Star Dou Great Forest, glistening like pearls. The silver hair shone with a faint light under the sun, creating a stark contrast with the surrounding green and blue.

Her eyes were a pure shade of purple. Most remarkably, a faint golden light shimmered around the little girl. The flowing patterns of this golden light were identical to the divine power imprints on the Dragon Scale. This golden light was like her second skin, intimately connected to her body, lending her a sacred and mysterious aura.

However, as Lang Lei approached this spot, those divine patterns seemed to come alive and strangely disappeared. It was as if they had only briefly manifested to welcome Lang Lei's arrival and had now quietly faded after fulfilling their purpose.

What surprised Lang Lei even more was that, apart from her young age, the silver-haired girl's appearance was strikingly similar to Gu Yuena, whom he had encountered in the Sea of Consciousness before. The same silver hair and purple eyes, the same delicate and refined beauty, even the subtle aura was identical.

Seeing Lang Lei look at her, the little girl gently clutched a blade of grass in front of her, appearing somewhat nervous. Her voice was as soft as freshly melted snow, carrying a hint of innocence and curiosity, "Are you... the one who 'woke' me up?"

"Gu Yuena?"

But to Lang Lei's surprise, the girl's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Who is Gu Yuena?"